CHAPTER 1
1. Introduction to the Spanish Colonial Period
After Magellan’s death, five (5) expeditions were sent by the King of Spain:
- Loaisa (1525)
- Cabot (1526)
- Saavedra (1527)
- Villalobos (1542)
- Legazpi (1564)
Legazpi Expedition (1564)
- Most successful expedition and discovered the tornviaje or return trip to Mexico across the
Pacific, which later on started the Galleon Trade.
King Philip II
- The King of Spain during the Spanish conquest.
- Ordered the expeditions to acquire spice trade and to send Christian missionaries across the
world.
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
- Spanish conquistador whose expedition was the most successful out of the 5 expeditions.
- Conquered the Kingdom of Maynila (now Manila) and made it the Capital of the Philippines.
- Became the Philippines’ first Governor-General.
2. The Spanish Conquest and Establishment of Colonial Rule
February 13, 1565
- Legazpi arrived in the Philippines and landed on the shores of Cibabao (now Samar Island).
June 24, 1571
- Legazpi established a permanent settlement in Manila and ordered the construction of the
walled city of Intramuros.
- Now celebrated as Araw ng Maynila.
Spain’s three (3) objectives in its policy toward the Philippines:
- To acquire a share in the spice trade.
- To develop contacts with China and Japan in order to further Christian missionary efforts.
- To convert the Filipinos to Christianity.
3. The Structure of the Spanish Colonial Government
King of Spain
- Highest and ultimate authority.
- Distant and ruling through its representatives.
Executive Branch
● Governor-general:
- direct representative of the King of Spain, holding the executive power and oversees the entire
colony; highest official rank in the Philippines.
- Has the power to appoint and dismiss officials.
- Must be a peninsulares, which is a Spaniard born in Spain.
Judicial Branch
● Royal Audiencia:
- Highest court; advisory body to the Governor-General.
- Has the power to check and report the abuses of the Governor-General.
● Residencia:
- Special judicial court that investigates the performance of a Governor-General.
- Incoming Governor-Generals are often found among the Residencia.
Provincial Government
● Alcalde Mayor:
- Governs the provinces that had been fully subjugated.
- Supervises the collection of taxes.
Gobernadorcillos
- In-charge of efficient governance and tax collection.
- Are given small salaries but are exempted from paying taxes.
- Highest position a Filipino can attain, but with specific qualifications.
- Overseen by four (4) Lieutenants: Teniente Mayor (chief lieutenant), Teniente de Policia
(lieutenant police), Teniente de Sementeras (field lieutenant), and Teniente de Ganados
(livestock lieutenant).
- Any Filipino who wants to run for the position must be (1) a native or chinese mestizo, (2) at
least 25 years old, (3) literate in oral and written Spanish, and (4) has been a Cabeza de
Barangay for four (4) years.
Corregidor
- Governed provinces that were not entirely under Spanish control yet.
Cabeza de Barangay
- Responsible for peace and order of the barrio.
- Recruiter for public work.
Ayuntamiento
- Larger towns that became cities; Center of trade and authority.
- Cabildo: City council, composed of Alcalde (mayor), Regidores (councillor), Alguacil Mayor
(police chief). And Escribando (secretary).
4. Economic Policies: The Galleon Trade and Tribute System
Galleon Trade
- Spanish trans-Pacific trade route connecting Manila, Philippines, to Acapulco, Mexico
inaugurated in 1565 and carried on for almost 250 years.
- Two galleons or ships sailed the Pacific Ocean, one from Manila to Acapulco, and the other
from Acapulco to Manila, carrying their goods and products of exchange.
- The trade benefited only the few privileged Spaniards, specifically the Peninsulares.
- The only participation Filipinos had in the trade was to render manual labor, building and
repairing the galleon, and transporting materials.
Tribute System
- An annual mandatory tax, primarily under Spanish colonial rule (1565-1884), where Filipinos
paid a head tax or a portion of their goods and labor to the Spanish crown to acknowledge
submission and support the colonial administration and economy.
- This tributo, a significant source of revenue, included rice, gold, and other commodities, but
also encompassed forced labor (polo y servicio) and was a form of oppression and a burden
on the native population.
5. The Encomienda System and Land Tenure
Encomienda System
- Served as the primary Labor System in the Philippines established by the Spanish colonial
period, deeply altering the pre-colonial social structure and setting the stage for centuries of
complex socio-economic dynamics and widespread exploitation.
- Encomienda was the money from the tribute upon a certain conquered territory, given by the
King of Spain to a Spanish conquistador (colonizer) as a reward for his services, who in turn
could keep the tribute money for himself instead of giving it to the government.
- The first formal grants of encomienda in the Philippines were made by the Adelantado Miguel
Lopez de Legazpi in 1572, who was given the right to choose an encomienda near each
Spanish settlement.
● Encomendero:
- The Spanish recipients of the encomienda grant, who are typically individuals that rendered
service to the Crown during the conquest and pacification of the archipelago.
- They include the Conquistadors, Royal Officials, and Religious Orders.
● Encomendado:
- The native Filipinos who resided within the geographical boundaries of the encomienda. They
were the subjects of the encomendero’s rights to tribute and labor.
- Their primary obligations were to pay the tribute and render polo y servicio.
6. The Role of the Catholic Church and Religious Orders
Church:
- Under Spain, it functioned as the most extensive institution. It organized everyday life through
the parish: keeping civil registers (births, marriages, deaths), mediating disputes, and advising
local officials.
Religious Orders:
- They spread out with the reddución policy (resettling dispersed barangays into compact towns
around a church and plaza) - made taxation, labor drafts, and catechism easier. They were
often more powerful locally than Spanish officials.
- Frailocracy - friars outweighed civil authorities in influence.
- Reformation: Demands for Filipino priests to administer parishes - led to the execution of
GOMBURZA.
7. Cultural Changes: Education, Language, and Religion
Education:
- Education was primarily a Church enterprise until the:
- Royal Decree of 1863 - It established Spain's first modern public education system in the
Philippines. Mandated to create one primary school for boys and one for girls in each town,
aiming to provide free primary education and promote the Spanish language.
Language:
- Spanish became the language of power, but everyday evangelization relied on local tongues.
Spanish friars in the Philippines wrote grammars and dictionaries of local languages such as
Tagalog, Bikol, and Ilokano, turning them into written forms mainly for religious instruction and
colonial administration.
- This translation project functioned in two ways: it served as a means of control, as Filipinos
learned obedience and Catholic doctrine through the catechism, but it also created
possibilities, since the written vernaculars later became tools for spreading nationalist and
anti-colonial ideas.
Religion:
- Religious life blended Catholic and indigenous practices. Religious movements were not
always submissive to Spanish control.
- Cofradia de San Jose - founded by Hermano Pule in 1841, a movement against racial
discrimination (being indio in the priesthood) and a Spanish colonial government.
8. FIlipino Responses to Spanish Rule: Revolts and Resistance
Revolts Mixing Politics and Religion:
- Tamblot’s Revolt (1621–1622, Bohol): Tamblot was a native Boholano who led an uprising
in 1621 to stop the spread of Christianity in his area.
- Bankaw’s Revolt (1621–1622): was a religious uprising led by Datu Bankaw; rejected
Christianity and built temples to native gods.
Mid-Century Revolts Against Forced Labor:
- Sumuroy’s Revolt (1649–1650, [Link]): Sparked by opposition to sending men to Cavite
for shipbuilding. Agustin Sumuroy and some of his followers rose in arms on June 1, 1649,
over the polo y servicio/forced labor system being undertaken in Samar.
- Maniago’s Revolt (1660, Pampanga): Under polo y servicio, men in Pampanga worked as
timber cutters for eight months, which led to low agricultural harvests. To show their
opposition, the men set their campsite on fire, and chose Francisco Maniago, the chief from
Mexico, Pampanga, as their leader.
- Malong’s Revolt (1661, Pangasinan): an uprising led by Andres Malong in Pangasinan in
1660, challenging Spanish rule due to issues like forced labor and taxation.
Longest Revolt:
- Dagohoy Revolt (1744–1829, Bohol): The longest anti-colonial uprising lasting 85 years from
1744 to 1829. Led by Francisco Dagohoy, it began on the island of Bohol after a Jesuit priest
refused a Christian burial for his brother.
These revolts are the seedbed of nationalism: even failed uprisings kept alive a memory of
injustice and a repertoire of resistance (Constantino, 1975).
9. The Propaganda Movement and the Path to Revolution
- The new battlefield was the pen. José Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez Jaena
led the movement in Europe.
- La Solidaridad (1889-1895) - A reformist newspaper published in Spain; Official organ of the
Propaganda Movement; Published essays and articles that denounced friar abuses,
demanded reforms, and promoted civic nationalism.
- Noli Me Tangere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891) exposed abuses of the friars and colonial
system. Stirred Filipino consciousness at home, inspiring both reformists and future
revolutionaries.
- Despite its limitations, it laid the foundation for nationalism and led to the establishment of the
Katipunan.
10. The Philippine Revolution and the Fall of Spanish Rule
- The Katipunan (1892) - was a revolutionary secret society led by Andrés Bonifacio, to fight
for the independence of the country from Spanish colonial rule.
- The Cry of Balintawak/Pugad Lawin (Aug. 1896) - marks the beginning of the Philippine
Revolution against Spain, when Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan decided to rebel,
famously symbolized by tearing their community tax certificates (cedulas).
- Battle of San Juan del Monte (Aug. 30, 1896) - One of the first major encounters between
Katipuneros and Spanish forces. Marked the official start of open armed conflict.
Internal Conflicts in the Revolution:
- Tejeros Convention (March 1897) - Revolutionaries held elections to form a new
revolutionary government. Emilio Aguinaldo was elected President, replacing Bonifacio.
- Bonifacio’s Trial and Execution (May 10, 1897) - Accused of treason after refusing to accept
Aguinaldo’s leadership. Executed in Cavite.
PH Biak na Bato Republic (Nov. 1897)
- Founded by Emilio Aguinaldo in Bulacan. The Philippine revolutionary government, short-lived
but significant, ended with the Pact of Biak-na-Bato in 1897, exiled Aguinaldo and other
leaders in Hong Kong for reforms and amnesty.
Spanish-American War & Independence:
- Battle of Manila Bay (May 1, 1898) - U.S. Admiral George Dewey destroyed the Spanish
fleet in Manila Bay. Shifted the balance of power in the Philippines.
- Aguinaldo’s Return (May 19, 1898) - Returned from Hong Kong. Reorganized revolutionary
forces.
- Proclamation of Independence (June 12, 1898, Kawit, Cavite) - The Philippine flag was
raised and the national anthem played for the first time. Declared the Philippines free from
Spain.
Treaty of Paris (Dec. 10, 1898)
- Ended the Spanish-American War. Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States for $20
million.
11. Legacy of Spanish Colonialism: Law, Religion, and Culture
Law
- Claveria Decree of 1849 - Assignment of surnames
- Maura Law of 1893 - Laid the foundation for Philippine Local Governance
Religion
- Indulgence - Payments for the forgiveness of sins or reduction of purgatory time
Culture
- Fiesta politics - a term coined by historian Paul Kramer, describes the strategy used by
American colonial authorities in the early 20th century to govern and influence the Philippines.
- Aswang Culture - has been used as propaganda and social control by Spanish Colonizers
- Patron-Client Relationship, a framework used in the Spanish rule to immortalize the vote-
buying political culture in the Philippines.
12. Comparing Spanish Colonialism in the PH with Other Colonies
- Compared to other Spanish colonies like Cuba, Mexico, and Peru, the Philippines was
maritime-oriented, weaker in direct Spanish control, and more integrated with Asia
(China, Japan) than with Spain itself.
13. Governor General as the Head of the Colony
- Exercises executive, legislative, and judicial powers.